r/acotar

I’m so in love with ACOTAR I feel like it’s a sickness lol am love sick?? I simply LOVE it so much!! I need validation that I’m not alone here!!!

So I just finished ACOMAF and let’s talk about a few things:

1. the mating bond… FINALLY. Hallelujah! lol . That spicy seen in the cabin was awesome. Would have even liked more spicy tbh ! I love Fey and Rhys personalities together. Their comical and supportiveness with freedom is awesome .

2. I loved the battle scene In velaris and pictured all the battles , fighting and power being used - great writing here by SJM

3. wth how did they NOT SEE things could go down very poorly… the queens dismissive and flippant nature for me was 100% that the sisters were in danger if they stayed. I did not pin Tamiln being the one to turn them in tho. We knew the reading of the passage and cauldron wasn’t going to be so simple and yet the trap was just too easy.

Other notes on characters :
- I love Amren and can’t wait to learn more about her in the 3rd book and others! Her drinking blood and screwing with people’s minds to easily … love it
- Tamlin sucks. Obsessive controlling stalker who’s such a coward and I know we “want “ to like him and still he’s just too blind of his own demons to work on them it appears … let’s see what Feys power can do once she penetrates
- Lucien to me is like the creepy uncle and I feel badly over his bond w Elian

I’m excited to see how these other characters develop and about other courts! People on here seem to love the day court so other than her pure white power at the end I don’t know about it yet!

next up : ACOWAR 📚🤓

The purpose of these posts:  to provide a focused place for us to discuss how Elain has processed her trauma of being turned Fae, which, for Elain, meant losing her fiancé, thus losing the life she’d looked forward to as a human, and it meant gaining a mate. 

In Part 1, I stayed in the Hybern castle scene. That post was longer than anticipated, so let’s think of that post as the Set-Up. 

In Part 2, I focused on Lucien, although it was impossible to extract Lucien from the Inner Circle.

Part 3 stayed with Lucien, CH 24 in WAR. 

This post will be a bit of a departure. While hoping to finish out Elain with Lucien in WAR-SF, I found myself taken by, not sight, but hearing. It doesn’t seem like this departure can pair with thinking through Elain’s trauma and how she deals with that trauma, but it does tie in, as, lack of awareness of the (new) self leads to inability to speak of the (new) self and, for a fae, lack of training for the new powers. 

This is another shorter post and will focus on WAR, only, with a brief beginning in MAF.

*
Settings: House of Wind, townhouse, battleground (brief moment in Hybern castle)

The players: Nesta, Elain, Feyre, Rhysand, Mor, Azriel, Lucien, King of Hybern (who I will refer to as Frank, for lazy typing), Amren

*
The first time we get a glimpse into the possibility of Elain’s dormant powers is in the Hybern castle. We don’t know what Elain sees when she shouts out, but Feyre thinks Elain is warning her that Tamlin is heading towards her. However, there is nothing by way of the narrative to suggest that Feyre is right.

As a reminder, Elain and Nesta have just been dragged into the chamber. Frank does most of the talking, explaining why he has the sisters, how he got them, why the queens want to be immortal. This is the first time that both sisters have ever seen Tamlin and Lucien, and they do not know that the big blonde guy wants to take Feyre away with him. Right before the below happens, Frank has unleashed power, ripping through Cassian’s wings.

>Rhys was moving in an instant, as if he’d lunge for the king, but power hit us again, and again. Rhys slammed to his knees.

>My sisters were shrieking over their gags. But Elain’s cry—a warning. A warning to—

>To my right, now exposed, Tamlin ran for me. To grab me at last. (MAF, 519)

Why would Elain, who has no idea who Tamlin is, warn Feyre that there’s an opening for Tamlin to grab her? She wouldn’t. She is crying about something else. Is it a warning? For what?

And, I’ll very quickly call attention to this language that SJM puts in her books, and how important it is to do the opposite: “Elain yielded step after step toward that Cauldron.” (emphasis mine, 520) We see this language applied in war with nobles in SJM’s other books. Interesting to see it here.

Ok, on to WAR:

When Feyre first encounters Elain, she makes note of the silence surrounding Elain: “... Elain’s silence was … hollow. Empty.” (108) In their second encounter, Elain observes how far her sight goes: “I can see so very far now. All the way to the sea”. (167 ) This is an interesting moment, as the first thought seems to set the stage for Elain as Seer or Oracle, but the second one seems to be about literal sight. (NOTE: Feyre thinks she’s talking about the Sidra, which is another moment of Feyre not understanding Elain’s words or sounds. The Sidra is a river, not the sea.)

Elain goes on to say that she can hear Feyre’s heartbeat, which is significant, because Feyre, the previous evening, had a nightmare that involved Nesta and Elain. But, it’s also interesting that Elain says “...if I listen carefully, I can hear her heartbeat, too.” (167) The only follow-up here is Feyre telling Elain that she can learn to temper her sharpened senses. However, who is “she”? Is it >!Vesperus!<? Bryaxis? The HoW?

But, Elain presses, to try and help Feyre understand: “I can hear the sea. Even at night. Even in my dreams. The crashing sea–and the screams of a bird made of fire.” Feyre redirects and asks Elain if she’d like to tend her garden. Elain then says her most quoted lines:

>Will I hear the earthworms writhing through the soil? Or the stretching of roots? Will the bird of fire come to sit in the trees and watch me? (167)

Feyre steps away and goes to have a chat with Nesta about Elain’s mental health and Lucien enters the library. 

In the two instances that we see Elain, she is looking out of the window; she asks to go home, many times; she mentions a “he” waiting for her; she mentions the sea that she can hear “Even at night. Even in my dreams.” Why is a sea sounding at night remarkable? Is it possible that what Elain hears is her father? That her father is out at sea? I think she may be talking about her father on page 108, when she said “He’ll be looking for me.” We later discover that her father had crossed the sea to find alliances and that one of those alliances was with the firebird Vassa. Can Elain hear the negotiation between her father and Vassa? Or does Vassa lure the father to her and Elain can hear that? Is that why she thinks Vassa will perch in a tree and watch her? Or has Vassa learned of Elain and will watch over her, as protection? What does "home" mean for Elain? In WAR, we encounter another being who talks about "home" when offered a chance to leave.

During this same scene, we have Elain telling Lucien that she can hear his heartbeat through the stone. And she asks if he can hear hers. 

Elain’s primary sensory focuses during this short scene, both with Feyre and with Lucien, is on sound and sight. (In addition to asking Lucien if he can hear her heart, she conflates sight with sound: “No one ever does [hear my heart]. No one ever looked–not really.”)

Later that evening, Elain stumbles upon the IC and Nesta discussing Amren’s past and Elain says that she awoke because she heard something. Azriel prods her to talk about what she heard and she hedges that she might have been dreaming, that she’s “always dreaming these days.” (192) When Feyre tries to redirect, Elain pushes back and explains what she heard: “I can hear her–crying. Everyone thinks she’s dead. But she’s not. Only–different. Changed. As I was.”

Azriel pushed her to tell them what she saw, and she tells them. She goes on to explain the Cauldron’s anger. 

In CH33, Azriel says Elain is a Seer and Elain asks Mor: “Is that what this is?” Mor “Slowly, clearly…nodded” and later Feyre says that Elain’s “eyes clear[ed] again. As if the understanding, our understanding…it freed her from whatever murky realm she’d been in.” (emphasis mine) This is one of the turning points for Elain, when she begins to recover her senses and to step more into this new her. 

When Azriel asks more questions about the firebird queen, Elain “cocked her head, as if listening to some inner voice.” Her sight gives her glimpses into somethings and others are “all mist and shadow.”

Mor asks: “...why is she being sent this image? Why is she hearing this queen?” She’s the first to put sight and sound together. 

*

There a few mythological references to those who have extraordinary hearing. In Norse mythology, Heimdallr (IDRIS!) can hear the slightest sounds, from the soil to the sky and between realms. I’m not suggesting that Elain is Heimdallr; simply, what if Elain is more than a Seer. What if her powers are both sight and sound, and this combination is more akin to a figure like Heimdallr, standing on the cusp of the now and the future, on the cusp of life and death? What if Elain is more “watchman” than anything, and that the sight power aids her gift of protection? For example, what if she warns Cassian that broken, mangled wings can kill him, to make him more attuned to his mortality? To prepare him for Nesta’s bugle cry? What if Elain asks Mor for clarification of who and what she now is, because the combination of Truth and whatever Elain is will be vital for the future of Prythian? 

*
I’ll stop here and open the floor to other investigators thinking through hearing and Elain in FAS and Silver Flames. 

The Rules of Engagement:

1. Stick with the text; stick with Elain
2. This isn’t a shipping war
3. It’s okay to refer to other scenes to support your thoughts, but please make sure they are relevant to this post
4. Let’s have fun!

I really do believe that there are moments to foreshadow a Cassian redemption arc where he chooses Nesta over Rhysand.

Cassian hated Rhysand for distrusting Nesta. Cassian has said it himself that he loves Rhysand and considers him to be one of the people dearest to him. Cassian has never hated Rhysand, except when Rhysand didn't trust Nesta. Considering this lack of trust is at the core of Rhysand's mistreatment of Nesta in HOFAS, I definitely think this will be brought up again in the next book and will cause a divide between Rhys and Cassian.

Cassian challenged Rhysand. During the Blood Rite, Cassian wanted to stick as close to Nesta as he could in case things went badly, but Rhys wanted him to go with Az to rescue Eris, and the text specifically says that "Cassian challenged his High Lord." Az challenges Rhys from time to time, but Cassian never does, which makes this such a momumental moment for both Cassian and Nesta. Since, canonically, Nesta helped to defeat the Asteri, free Midgard, and end the Asteri's threat to Prythian, I'm hopeful that we'll see Cassian (and Az) challenging Rhys a lot more in defense of Nesta.

Cassian tried to get Rhys to back off. When Rhysand was berating Nesta, Cassian did say, "Rhys. It's been a long night. Let's talk in the morning," or something like that. It was submissive and a request, whereas it needs to become a demand and a warning. Something like, "Don't you talk to my mate in that fucking tone!"

Cassian stepped closer to Nesta. When Rhys directly threatened Nesta in her own home, Cassian took a step closer to Nesta and then was conflicted about who to side with, but he did take that initial step closer to Nesta, not Rhysand, which is hopefully foreshadowing him ultimately choosing Nesta above Rhysand.

Cassian told Ember, Randall, and Bryce to leave quickly. Cassian said, "You have about a minute until Rhys shows up and explodes," which doesn't sound like much, but it is Cassian completely going against Rhys. Rhysand wanted Nesta to kill Bryce as soon as she opened the portal without even giving her a chance to speak (which is absolutely appalling, by the way), so Cassian telling them to hurry up and skedaddle to safety is a highly significant moment of him completely going against orders. This means that when Rhysand shows up and does, indeed, explode, Cassian will hopefully take the brunt of the verbal lashing. But, hopefully, this is also foreshadowing just the general arc of Cassian leaning away from Rhysand and embracing Nesta fully and completely.

I don't think we're gearing up for a small moment of Cassian just siding with Nesta against Rhysand. I think we're getting ready for a major shift of Cassian completely choosing Nesta over Rhysand, leaving the Night Court for Dusk, and being promoted from General to consort.

For the book release date just 4 months away, it’s odd how no titles or covers are being released. Complete radio silence.

The secrecy really has an air that they don’t want any leaks or speculation because the material is going to upset the fandom that has honestly turned feral at times.

I would not be shocked if the next book has Tamlin and Lucian and less of the setting in the Night Court. It was repeatedly said the SC and Tamlin are important, Lucian is the connection of the SC and the humans.

In the call her daddy interview SJM was very careful to explaining how she reached out to her friend about writing about Tamlin. Why would she make it a point to even ask if she wasn’t already writing that exact story out?? As a writer she shouldn’t even have to ask or be concerned. It adds to a layer of these newest books being released and the weird secrecy of the content.

What is your "I'm just going to pretend I didn't see that" moment in this series?

Here is my top 3:

1. The inconsistency regarding Eris and Mor's ages.

Every time someone points out that Eris would have been NINE years old when he got engaged to Mor, I just pretend I didn't see it, I simply cannot accept it.

It HAS to be a mistake, because the idea that the Inner Circle hated a child for years is just so stupid... 😭

2. I absolutely hate that they can smell "arousal." It gives me the creeps, I mean, I can't be mysterious or nonchalant?! Does EVERYONE have to know my business?! 😭

And, on top of that, imagine being stuck near a couple that reeks of LUST, stinking up the whole room, and not being able to leave... 💀

3. Rhysand... "climaxing" to the image of his future child with Feyre... no, just no.

for the longest time i was convinced that Morrigan was half Black (?) idk if i ever read her character’s description properly or maybe i skimmed it but i was fully convinced that she looked this way as it makes more sense since she is rhys cousin and rhys gets descripted as tanned. So i thought that maybe Rhys is mixed (best way to describe it is latin x white) and Mor is mixed (latino x Black).

Then i came across some fan art and my worldview was lowkey shattered however i will not change the characters looks now bc i kinda like them like this

(btw english is not my first language so i deeply apologize if any words used to describe their looks was offensive)

I have some theories that I really hope are going to materialize in the next couple of books, but ultimately I just want to get on with the story and find out what happens next. I trust that whatever SJM has created will be entertaining af, even if my ships and theories don't come to pass. Am I alone in this?

There are a lot of very vocal fans who are certain that they've pieced together the next POVs and relationships and which mating bonds are real and fake and this and that....but like... not everyone can be right.

So, why aren't people just excited to read SJM's vision as she intended it? I haven't been disappointed with a book so far, so why would I doubt her now?

There are some people who have dedicated their social platforms to proving they're right about their theories. Some of them will surely end up embarrassed when their theories don't pan out.

I just really don't want to see fans storming the internet after the next books are released shouting about how bad the books are because their theories were wrong. But based on how some of the fandom has behaved thus far, it's hard not to expect that this is exactly what will happen.

I can not imagine the pressure that SJM is under and how worried she must be about how the next books will be received.

I guess my ultimate question is, does your enjoyment of the series depend solely on whether or not it unfolds as you want it to?

And, do you think the fandom is going to embrace whatever happens next in the story, or should we expect a ton of negative backlash?

The Mortal Queens are like Cersei — and Rhys, Feyre and co all have to convince them that a terrible mutual enemy is coming to wipe them all out. The Queens assert that they can take on this enemy (which they can’t), and then say, ‘prove it’.

So just like Jon Snow and his men traveling to the North to grab a White Walker / the Undead — they now have to prove to the Queens that they would be good allies and need each other to survive.

(I’m only on ch 41 of ACOMAF.)

Goooooodddd dayyyyyy to everyone! Let's see if we can start this Monday off the right way!

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